


Stuck in the Middle with You

by neeeeealll



Category: Timeless (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Friendship/Love, trigger warning: panic attacks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-05
Updated: 2017-03-19
Packaged: 2018-09-22 06:33:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9589052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neeeeealll/pseuds/neeeeealll
Summary: After going back to the past Lucy wakes up to find herself chained. What happened to the rest of the team and why has she been chained up?





	1. Chapter 1

Goosebumps on Lucy’s skin was the first thing she became aware of, the loss of her shawl exposing her arms to the dampness of the room. Though the coolness didn’t explain the ache creeping through her upper arms. She hoped she wasn’t coming down with flu; time travel wasn’t really compatible with being sick. She didn’t think Flynn would take a day off just because she couldn’t get out of bed. She didn’t even want to think about the trouble Wyatt and Rufus could get into without her being with them on missions. It had been bad enough when Wyatt had attempted to save Jessica, she’d promised herself she would never be left behind after that. 

As things slowly started to filter through to her sluggish brain she became aware that she wasn’t on a concrete floor. What ever she had been placed on was weird, firm but soft at the same time. As her brain began to function at normal speed again she sensed a weight around her wrists dragging her arms behind her slightly. It was just enough to be uncomfortable. Shivering in the cold a clinking noise caught her attention. Peeling back heavy lids she peered into the gloom around her. This time period didn’t have electricity so she was reliant on the tiny barred window to give her enough light to see. 

It wasn’t promising. Apart from a wooden door there was nothing in the room. It looked exactly like a cell in all prisons, concrete and barren. She didn’t even have a bed. Glancing at her wrists she caught sight of thick ugly chains, coiling behind her back out of sight. Frowning she caught sight of a smaller sliver bracelet lying beneath the thicker chains on her left wrist.   
‘Why would anyone add jewellery to my wrist?’ She wondered.

“Lucy” Jumping, Lucy almost toppled over as she attempted to twist around to the voice. Evidently the chain was short to restrict her movement. A gentle hand arrested her movement before she hit the concrete, the hiss of pain from behind her ruffling her hair.

“Wyatt?”

“Whose lap did you think you we sitting in?” Lucy could almost imagine his smirk as he righted her.   
At least it explained exactly what or more accurately who she was sat on. Though why she was in his lap she wasn’t sure. For the first time since she’d regained consciousness she was glad she couldn’t turn around.   
‘Why was she blushing? I didn’t choose to end up in his lap.’ Lucy wondered. Somehow this seemed even more intimate than when she’d curled into him on the mission with Bonnie and Clyde. At least she’d made a choice then, it appeared someone had placed her on Wyatt unless he’d done it. Though the chains made that unlikely.

“What happened?”

“After we went into that outhouse and the door slammed shut someone pumped gas into the room. I tried to break down the door but the gas knocked me out. I then woke up here with you.”

“Where’s Rufus?” Lucy waved her arms at the room, ignoring the jingle of the chains. “He clearly isn’t here.”

“Lucy.” Wyatt grabbed Lucy’s arms gently to stop her flailing. Shifting her weight carefully, Lucy was well aware of how awkward her position was in his lap. Understanding her confusion Wyatt shifted his arms forward until they rested against hers. Snaking around his wrists were chains identical to hers. 

“They chained us together.” 

“Yeah. So try not to move too much.”

“Sorry. Can you pick them?”

“What with? I don’t have any picks on me and I highly doubt you can undo your bra with your hands tied.”

Lucy refused to blush at that comment. He was never going to let her forget that first missions.

“What about a hairgrip?” She retorted.

“A hairgrip?”

“Sure. I’ve worn one or had one on me since that first mission.” At his silence she shrugged slightly. “A certain soldier taught me to be prepared.”

His huff of laughter jiggled her up and down slightly making her wobble against him.

“Yeah that will work. Easier to put in a report as well. Not sure what Christopher would say if she realised I got you to take off your bra again.”

“Most guys buy me a drink before asking that once, never mind twice.”

“I’ve bought you a drink. But if it makes you feel better we are definitely getting a drink after this. I think we’re going to need it.”

“Being chained to me is that bad?” Lucy joked. 

“There are worse people it could be.”

“Damned by faint praise.” She muttered, ignoring his chuckle.

The slam of the door hitting the wall had them both jumping and Wyatt clutching Lucy closer to him. It was almost as if he was trying to move himself in front of her but was hampered by the chains. 

“Oh good you’re awake.” Flynn smirked as the candle he carried lit up the room. “See Lucy this is what happens when you make things more difficult than it needs to be. Wouldn’t it have been easier to just work together?”

“So you decided to gas us and chain us to a wall?” She scoffed.

“Well it seems the easiest way to delay you.”

“For all of the time it takes for us to escape.” Wyatt ground out.   
Given how tense his body was Lucy was surprised he could speak. She could feel every inch of his rigid body pressed against her, if Flynn wasn’t in front of her Lucy would have trouble concentrating. The only time they’d been this close was with Bonnie and Clyde.

“Yes. I’m well aware of your talents of escape chains. Which is why I took steps. Just a word of warning, I would get used to being close. Think of it being bonding. Not that you need it much, you seem far too comfortable there, what would Jessica think?” Flynn chuckled slightly as Wyatt became immobile. 

If she wasn’t in his lap Lucy was certain that Wyatt would have lunged at Flynn, chains or no chains.

“What are you on about?” She questioned when it was clear that Wyatt wasn’t going to speak.

“Oh you’ll find out. But I’d keep close together. We wouldn’t want any accidents now would we?” With one last smirk at them Flynn left, taking the light with him.

“What the hell was that about?” She wondered after a few minutes.

“I have no idea. Let’s just get out of here. Where’s the hair grip?”

Instead of answering him Lucy carefully lifted her arm, well aware that if she weren’t wary she would hurt them both. Following her train of thought he wrapped his hands around her wrist so she could move them both at the same time. Gradually Lucy moved their connected arms up towards her head, wincing when the chain restricted their movement. Tilting her head she strained to reach the grips in her hair but it was no use. Neither of them could quite reach the grips.

“Damn it.” She swore, lowering her arms and leaning back into him. No matter the issue plaguing her there was always something comforting about his presence. Not that she was going to analyse that. She’d found herself more and more reaching out for his comforting presence. Even him just being near was enough to set her more at ease. 

“So much for being prepared.” 

“Hey it will be alright.” Wyatt reassured her. “I’ve got an idea but it might hurt a bit.”

“Do it.” The sooner she got out the chains the better. She was slowly going stiff from the position on the floor and Wyatt couldn’t be any more comfortable with her sat in his lap.

“Where is the grip?”

“There are a few in my hair but loosest is beside my ear on the left.”

“I’m sort if this hurts.” He whispered against her skin, mouth just below her ear.

Lucy tried to keep still as he attempted what ever he was going to do, but it became indefinitely harder when she felt his lips brush her neck. As they drifted towards her hairline she could barely supress the shiver, her eyes focusing on the door as she commanded her body not to reveal the swirling emotions flowing through her. All her focus was on Wyatt’s lips, his touch gentle, his breathing blocking most other sounds. As her brain spluttered back into life she realised his plan. Moving slowly as not to hurt her, he almost tenderly gathered the grip in his mouth and began easing it out of her hair. Lucy couldn’t help as small cry of pain escaping as it tangled in one of her curls.   
‘Why couldn’t she have had her hair straight for this mission?’ She cursed silently.  
Breathing increased slightly, Wyatt paused to give her time to recover before continuing on. A few more tugs and it was free, Lucy’s hair falling to dust her shoulder. In a move that surprised her he brushed it back to approximately where it had been before being disturbed by him removing the grip. 

“Sorry.” He murmured around the grip as he moved their arms into a position where he could manoeuvre it into his hand. How he managed to move it to his hand Lucy would never know. When she spent time around him she sometimes forgot that he had a whole host of skills he’d picked up as a soldier that she didn’t know about. 

Wyatt had managed to release her wrist from the chains when the door flew open again. Before she’d even registered the figure in the doorway Wyatt had pulled her back against him turning her away from the figure.

“Oh thank god.” Rufus’ voice came from the doorway. “We need to leave right now.”

“What happened Rufus?” Wyatt asked as he turned back to the problem of the chains.

“Apparently being black is a big crime here. There’s a mob heading this way and I don’t think they want to have a party. What happened to you guys?”

“Flynn.” Lucy explained, sighing with relief as Wyatt unlocked their other wrists. Waving a hand at Rufus she allowed him to pull her to her feet wincing as the blood flowed back into her legs.   
“Apparently he wanted to delay us.” 

The light from Rufus’ candle reflected off the bracelet, drawing her attention back to it. Turning her wrist over she couldn’t find any clasp to remove it. Why on earth would Flynn put a bracelet on her? And what was with his cryptic warnings about staying close to Wyatt?

“Come on let’s go.” Wyatt straightened his clothes as he stood, then led them out of the door. “I’d rather not fight a mob.”

************************

They’d raced back to the lifeboat, not really paying attention to the scenery around them. As always they’d had to leave it further out from the town so as not to attract attention. Thankfully they found no sign of the mob Rufus had mentioned and made it back to the lifeboat unscathed. All the way Lucy couldn’t help but wonder at Flynn’s words. No matter how she puzzled about it she couldn’t figure out what he was after. Maybe once they were back in the present they could figure it out between them.

Reaching the lifeboat Rufus headed inside leaving Wyatt to help her in and make a start on her seatbelt. Once he was satisfied she was securely fastened he began on his own. Watching his movements she caught sight of a gleam of silver that she hadn’t noticed before. Clutching her seat as the world began to spin around her signifying their movement through time she had to ask:  
“Did Flynn put that on you?” She pointed quickly to his left wrist before regain her death grip on the seat. Wyatt wasn’t the kind of guy to wear jewellery, not that she’d ever paid too much attention to his wrists but she was certain he wasn’t wearing it earlier. He just nodded his head, clenching his mouth together as the spinning grew worse. 

The crash indicated that they’d landed back in the present.   
“That never gets any better.” Wyatt groaned before slowly undoing his belt. Rufus’ groan of agreement matched hers as they stumbled out into the warehouse.

“How did it go?” Christopher enquired as Wyatt helped her out of the lifeboat.

“Well he didn’t managed to change anything but he did manage to gas Lucy and Wyatt before chaining them up.” Rufus supplied. Glancing at the two of them for confirmation Christopher then nodded.   
“Go to medical and get checked out. Debrief once you’re done.”

Nodding her agreement Lucy quickly stepped towards the medical suite, leaving Wyatt behind to confer with Christopher. Medical was a good idea but she still really hated having blood tests. Hopefully this time she wouldn’t pass out. She’d barely gone a few steps when a beeping caught her attention. It seemed to becoming from her wrist. Frowning Lucy lifted her wrist staring at the bracelet Flynn had placed on her wrist. Across the top, which she’d initially believed to be silver, there was three blogs varying from yellow to orange.

“Lucy don’t move!” Rufus yelled freezing her in place. Turning to face him Lucy found Wyatt holding his wrist in a similar move to her. Catching sight of her his face paled.

“Rufus?” Wyatt questioned.

“Lucy move back towards Wyatt.” Rufus commanded, his tone making her comply without thought. As she moved back towards him she noticed the amber light disappear, returning silver. By the time Lucy was stood beside Wyatt her bracelet was back to silver.

“Rufus?” Christopher asked, as he appeared to be the only one who knew what was going on.

“I’ve only seen these in movies. It was in that transporter movie.”

“Are you serious?” Wyatt choked out.

“Guys.” Lucy ground out, wondering what the hell was going on. Turning to Lucy, Wyatt explained his face pale.

“In the movie Frank can’t move to far away from his car. He has a bracelet on his wrist. If he gets too far away…” He trailed off leaving Lucy to reach her own conclusions.

“You mean?” 

Rufus looked at Wyatt before answering Lucy’s question.

“Yeah. Until we can figure out how to get these bracelets off you and Wyatt are going to have to stay as close as possible to each other.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry it took so long to get this next chapter up. Thank you for all your reviews. I was originally going to write this straight after the last chapter but I was poorly and then searching for a house kind of took over my life. 
> 
> Anyway here you go. A trigger warning there is a description of a panic attack in this chapter. If you want to avoid it skip the paragraphs after ‘There was only so much she could take.’ It’s finished after the two paragraphs after that.

“This is ridiculous!” Lucy burst out as she paced beside the windows of the meeting room they’d adjourned to.  
Agent Christopher had suggested the move when it became clear that Rufus and Mason’s discussion wasn’t going to be over quickly. They hadn’t even had chance to change as Agent Christopher had wanted to reduce any risks to them and the building while they worked out the plan with the bracelets. Even as she paced Rufus’ eyes kept flickering to the bracelet as he muttered and scribbled on the tablet. Wyatt left her to pace, his eyes following her progress, no longer flinching at the beeping which increased every time she stepped slightly to far from him. 

Lucy’s pacing increased in intensity as she considered the bomb on her wrist. Rufus had quickly realised his movie reference had gone straight over her head and explained while they moved. How such a tiny bracelet could contain enough explosive to destroy a whole block almost didn’t seem believable to Lucy but one look at Wyatt’s face had confirmed what Rufus had told her. If she moved too far from Wyatt then she could not only kill them both but numerous innocent people. 

As if sensing Lucy’s increasing terror Wyatt moved from his position to intercept her frantic pacing.  
“Hey. It’s going to be all right. There’s nothing Rufus can’t do with technology. It make take him a little while but between him, Jiya and Mason they’ll figure out how to get this off us.”   
“Yes but most technology isn’t from the future and could kill us all if I move slightly too far away from you.” Lucy snapped turning away to pace towards the door again.  
“Lucy we will find away to get this off you.” Agent Christopher reassured Lucy from her position beside the arguing scientists.

“About that…” Mason started.  
“Don’t tell me you can’t do anything.” Wyatt snapped, turning to face the pair at the table, all too aware of that tone of voice. Even Lucy had noticed that he a tone when he was about to deliver bad news. He nearly had as bad of a poker face as she had. As Lucy approached the scientists she noticed that Wyatt positioned himself beside her, angling himself between her and Mason. She’d noticed he did this frequently, seeming unaware of what he was doing. He always seemed to be beside her, especially when she needed him.   
‘Maybe it won’t be that difficult not moving far from him.’ Lucy considered before dismissing the thought. She was certain that there were far more issues with them being forced to stay close together than she could think of right now. All she could focus on was the warmth that was coming off him and helping stave off her panic attack. Ever since she’d been drafted in to this program she’d found herself in more and more situations she couldn’t control. It was only with his and Rufus’ support that she’d been able to begin to over come the panic attacks that usually disabled her.

“At this moment we can’t remove the bracelets.” Rufus finished, looking apologetically at his teammates. “We need to do more tests before we can safely remove them with no danger to you guys. Plus we don’t know what effect moving through time will have had on the bomb.”  
“So you’re saying we’re stuck with a bomb on our wrists?” Wyatt snapped, glaring more at Mason than Rufus. “And you have no idea what will happen with them?”  
“We’re still not entirely sure of the effects of travelling through time have on different objects.” Mason began wilting under Wyatt’s intensive stare.   
“We need to run some more tests and simulations.” Rufus supplied, trying to reassure Lucy who had begun to shake.  
“That seems reasonable.” Agent Christopher input, glancing at Lucy. “Any resources you need you have. Besides every one is tired now. This isn’t something we want to make any mistakes on.”   
Wyatt glanced at Lucy for a minute before nodding.   
“What do we do now?” He asked more to Rufus than anyone else.  
“You go and get some rest. We reconvene in the morning.” Agent Christopher ordered.  
“Just don’t go far from each other. At least the beeps and lights will tell you if you’re getting too far away from each other.” Rufus tried to be comforting but to Lucy he just seemed concerned.  
“It’s probably better if we stay at my place.” Wyatt shrugged. “I’m assuming you’re still living with your mum.”  
Lucy nodded slightly, looking to Agent Christopher for confirmation. She’d got used to things changing when she came back from missions that simple things like where she was living always needed checking before she went anywhere. It appeared that this time that nothing major had changed and the greatest thing she had to worry about was the bomb strapped to her wrist.  
“Are you ok with that?” She asked tentatively. Jessica was still a raw spot for him and she had no idea if his place was still the one he’d lived in with his wife or if he’d ever had any other women around.  
Smiling softly and nodding he placed a gentle hand at her back turning her towards the door.  
“Sure. Do you have some clothes with you?”  
“Yes. Ever since a reckless hothead informed me that I always need a go bag.”  
“Good to know a bossy know it all can take advice.” Wyatt joked.

Stepping towards the door Lucy noticed that Jiya had entered unannounced at was following their conversation like a tennis match. Jiya had watched them with fascination ever since Lucy had admitted that Wyatt had told her about taking the Lifeboat to try and save Jessica. She had a feeling that Jiya had something on her mind but just hadn’t gotten around to saying it and Lucy was afraid to ask. Deep down she was all to aware of what Jiya would say but then she would have to face the truth and actually admit her feelings.  
“I’ve set up a screen in the changing room. That way you can change but stay close together. Lucy do you still need help getting changed?”  
Lucy froze for a second on the way to the door before nodding at Jiya. She hadn’t really considered the implications of staying close to Wyatt. Simple things like changing and using the bathroom were now going to become awkward.  
“Let’s go and get changed. You’ll feel better in your own clothes.” Wyatt gently ushered her forward seeming oblivious to the tangent her mind was taking her.

*********************************************

A small cloth barrier partitioned the changing rooms, a bench on either side containing their clothes. As neither of them had become too mucky they could forgo the awkwardness of figuring out how they would shower, at least until the morning. Lucy made a beeline towards her clothes, hoping that they would give her a feeling of normalcy even though nothing about this situation could ever be considered that. With Jiya’s help she managed to remove all the pins holding together her dress and eventually replace it with her own jeans and simple top, though she hadn’t been able to reach the clothes on the bench herself. Apparently she was going to have to be in sync with Wyatt to prevent her moving too far away from him.

As Jiya left to return her and Wyatt’s clothes to the wardrobe department Lucy sat on the floor to sort her shoes, suddenly exhausted. Whenever she seemed to have got the hang of time travel another bombshell was dropped on her. There was only so much she could take.

Before she had even realised it her breathing had begun to increase, her whole body feeling like it was buzzing. She felt like she was vibrating, as if one wrong move would cause her to fly apart. Whimpering quietly to herself, Lucy moved until her head was on her knees, breathing slowly and deeply trying to slow her racing heart rate. Casting her eyes around the room for her phone, which contained soothing music for situations, she found it lying on the bench out of her reach due to the damn bomb. Stifling her sob, she buried her head in her arms, clutching her knees.

“Lucy do you… LUCY!”   
Jiya’s frightened cry had Wyatt bursting through the barrier, flailing slightly as he became entangled in the cloth. Lucy would’ve found it funny, never having seen him so inelegant before, if she wasn’t concentrating on not flying apart. Having confirmed that nothing was attacking them, he fell to his knees just in front of Lucy, gently touching her clenched hands.  
“Hey. It’s all right. I’m here. When you’re ready take my hands. Every time I squeeze I want you to take a deep breath in. When I stop I want you to breath out until I squeeze again.” His low voice was reassuring as much as his presence, his gentle squeezing helping Lucy regain control of her breathing. Once she was sure she had more control she slowly raised her head to meet his concerned gaze  
“That’s better.” Wyatt smiled softly as he assed her condition. Assured she was slightly calmer he carefully drew Lucy towards him, enfolding her in his arms. Though Lucy would never tell him this it was one of the only places she felt safe, even when the world was spinning out of her control.

“Are you ready to get out of here?” Wyatt muttered into Lucy’s hair, his face pressed into her. His breath on her cheek sent shivers up Lucy’s spine distracting her from her reduced panic. She didn’t want to pull away from his comforting warmth but knew they couldn’t stay sitting on the floor much longer.   
Helping Lucy to her feet Wyatt grabbed his jacket before gesturing to the doorway where Jiya still hovered.   
“Come on let’s go … to mine.”  
Pausing to reassure Jiya that she was fine, Lucy found her own jacket, sliding her phone into the pocket. It turned out that Wyatt was far more soothing than any playlist could ever be.

************************************

It turned out that Wyatt was even more of a gentleman than Lucy had realised. Overriding her protests he’d insisted on carrying her bag and opening the door of his car for her. He’d left her to stew with her thoughts on the short drive to his apartment. Once there he’d lead the way up to the second floor, opening the door to a simple apartment. There was far more in the apartment than Lucy had expected, though everything was neat and tidy, as she’d come to expect from his training. A small living room was just off the hallway with a kitchen further down. She guessed that the two doors at the end of the hallway led to a bathroom and bedroom. 

“Do you want anything to eat?” Wyatt paused at the threshold of the kitchen. “I don’t have much but we can order in if you want anything?”  
“To be honest I just want sleep. If that’s all right with you.” Lucy didn’t even have the energy to shrug; the panic attack had wiped her out. If he wanted to eat she would just collapse onto one of the bar stools at the counter, he could wake her once he was done. It was going to take a bit of getting used to, not being able to go far from him.  
“Sure. I could do with sleep too.” Almost unconsciously Wyatt took her hand and led her to his bedroom. In any other situation it would have been romantic. Entering his room Lucy was surprised to find it was a pale blue with a huge bed dominating the room. Noticing her focus Wyatt joked: “At least it’s bigger than the bed we shared on that mission with Bonnie and Clyde.”   
Lucy nodded unable to think of anything other than getting in that bed and sleeping for a week.  
“I’ll just …” Wyatt pointed to the chest of draws on the other side of the room. “Put your stuff wherever you want. Let me know when you’re changed.” 

Lucy stared for a moment watching his back before it sunk in that he was giving her the privacy to get changed. Spinning on her heel she silently contemplated the clothes in her bag; silently thanking the universe that she had remembered to pack pyjamas. Throwing a quick glance over her shoulder she noticed Wyatt had kept his promise, his back to her, a back that currently was completely uncovered. Shaking herself slightly as she watched him begin to slide his jeans off Lucy quickly undressed and threw on her pyjamas, trying to banish that image of Wyatt from her mind.   
“I’m changed.”   
“Me too.” Wyatt turned at the sound of her voice, his arms filled with extra pillows. “I thought you’d be more comfortable.” He explained at her raised eyebrow. Shrugging absently Lucy slid into the bed at his hand wave, enjoying the way the sheets felt against her skin. Lying here she was surrounded by Wyatt’s scent, something she had come to associate with safety and comfort. Though there was now a wall of pillows between them Lucy swore she could feel his heat when the bed dipped as he climbed in.  
“Goodnight Wyatt.”  
“Night Ma’am.”

***********************************

Light filtered into the room breaking Lucy’s slumber. It was a fight to wake up. She was warm and safe, though something was nagging at the back of her mind. Eyes flying opening she took in the unfamiliar room as her brain processed what happened last night. What Lucy had initially thought was a cuddly blanket tucked around her turned out to be a cuddly Wyatt, the pillow wall pushed aside as he draped his body over hers, his breathing gently ruffling her hair. The arm that draped across Lucy’s stomach holding her close to him had the bomb on it. Unlike hers it just looked like a simple piece of jewellery with no embellishments apart from the lights that indicated how close they were to blowing up. With a sigh Lucy leant back into Wyatt, deciding to enjoy the peace and quiet while she still could. Before she drifted back off to sleep one thought bludgeoned its way to the front of mind pushing all chances of sleep away.  
‘How the hell were they going to be able to shower? Was she going to have to shower with Wyatt?!’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have anything you want them to do let me know and I’ll see if I can incorporate it in a chapter. I should also say I’m British so if there’s anything that doesn’t seem to translate ask me and I’ll try and explain what I was on about. Like some pointed out that hairgrip is bobby pin in America, so thank you ☺

**Author's Note:**

> So I had this idea since the first episode about her adapting to carry a hairgrip in case they ever need to pick a lock again. I was going to just do this as a one shot but I had an idea to carry this on further if people are interested in reading more. Let me know what you think.


End file.
